The problem of evaluation of impact of EU structural support on the development of the territory of Lithuania

Abstract

It would be hard to seriously argue about the positive general influence of EU support on the economic development in such small (NUTS 2 size) and relatively poorly developed countries like Lithuania. However the actual impact of such support on spatial development inside the country is quite uncertain. The urban system with many medium size cities, which was developed in Lithuania during the Soviet period, ensures polycentric development of the country. Social relations between different regions and even municipalities are quite weak and rapid economic development in one part could make little impact on the quality of life in another. The paper aims to reveal the distribution of EU support inside the country, trying to verify a popular pre-assumption that most of the benefits of such support goes to major cities, especially capital Vilnius. Such pre-assumption often leads to the idea of necessity to change the principles of distribution of EU support and the whole regional governance of Lithuania. The author also tries to introduce alternative ways of measurement of impact of EU support on spatial development of the country, which would be based on the establishment of its impact on subjective indices such as quality of life or level of happiness in various localities. This paper stresses the need to pay attention to inter-subjective aspects of consequences of implementation of EU regional policy in different localities.